REVEL PASTRY CO.
Charity Everett is the founder and pastry chef of Revel Pastry Company. She started cooking as soon as she could stand on a chair and reach the kitchen counter. Her earliest memories center around learning from her mother and grandmother the joys of creating in the kitchen.
Since then, that love of cooking has grown into a passion for baking and cooking with the seasons. At Revel, located in Atlanta, Charity creates both sweet and savory pastries inspired by the best local produce each season has to offer. At home, she draws on that same inspiration to create simple, healthy, and comforting meals.
Tell us about yourself: Charity Everett, Atlanta, Georgia, Owner + Pastry Chef at Revel Pastry Co.
Inspiration for starting Revel? As I entered adulthood, I was struck by how easy it was to get bogged down by the pressures and struggles or mundanity of life and let the small pleasures pass by unnoticed. Spending time in the kitchen, creating something delicious from whatever inspired me at the grocery store and sharing it with friends and loved ones has always been an activity that allowed me to pause and take in the beauty around me. I wanted to use my passion for pastry to create something that would draw people into the beauty of the moment and give them joy.
What makes you tick? Spending quality time with the people I love, meeting new people, and creating beautiful and interesting food. I love to create experiences that bring people together and facilitate community.
Personal mantra: Surrender. You don’t have to get it right, you just have to live faithfully.
Favorite form of release? Learning about and trying new wines + cocktails.
Pick a superfood: Sweet potatoes! I love them roasted with rosemary and garlic.
Best part about your community? I am new to Atlanta, but my favorite part has been the spirit of welcome and inclusiveness I have felt from everyone I have met so far. It has been so refreshing!
WHITE OAK CUISINE WITH CHEF REID
Last week we brought you a special Part I post on our recent trip to White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia. What you might not know is the farm is also home to an open-aired restaurant that primarily feeds their 100+ employees (from butchers & organic farmers, to office managers) Monday through Saturday, as well as farm guests. The restaurant features daily specials along with other regular daily menu items. They also offer a wide variety of items for sale in their store front ranging from home-made preserves and lip salve to BBQ rubs and seasonal gifts. We sat down with our friend and White Oak Pastures chef, Reid Harrison, to talk about culinary life on the farm.
Tell us about yourself: Matthew Reid Harrison, Chef/Manager of The Pavilion at White Oak Pastures
Hometown + Current city: Macon, GA & Bluffton, GA
What led you to culinary arts? Couldn’t deal with another calculus class... and I love cooking.
Describe the White Oak Pastures work environment: Family. Diverse. Passionate.
How has your work influenced your definition of personal health and wellness? It’s great having access to hormone/steroid free meats along with organic vegetables, so my diet has improved a great deal from the fast pace of city living. In addition to that, there isn’t a whole lot to do around here besides work, so I’ve become somewhat of a regular at the gym.
Personal mantra: You’re either green and growing or ripe and rotting.
All photos (c) of Haley Sheffield Photography.
THE DETOXINISTA
Megan Gilmore, Georgia-grown girl and current Los Angelian, is a certified Holistic Health Counselor, trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Based in New York City, Integrative Nutrition® is the largest nutrition school in the world. Her education has equipped her with a deep knowledge in holistic nutrition, health coaching, and the importance of preventive care, which she loves sharing on her blog detoxinista.com and in her new cookbook, Everyday Detox!
Tell us your name: Megan Gilmore
City? Kansas + Georgia and currently Los Angeles.
What is your business? I’m a greeting card illustrator by day but nutrition and healthy cooking has been a passion of mine for years so I created detoxinsta.com as a creative outlet to share my favorite recipes.
Inspiration? I grew up on a terrible junk-food diet which took me years to turn around. I did a lot of yo-yo dieting and found myself obsessing over food anytime I tried to count calories. I changed my focus to eating real, unprocessed foods which was a refreshing, welcoming change. My goal with the website is to make healthy living accessible and show people that eating well can be both easy and delicious.
The Creamy Almond Butter & Spinach Shake + the Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Shake were just a few of our favorites that we found on detoxinista.com!
Pick a Superfood: Hemp seeds! They’re my favorite form of complete protein to add to my morning smoothie.
Favorite form of release? Hiking! Los Angeles has beautiful hiking trails, and getting out of nature gives me the recharge I need after working on my computer so often.
Something you miss about the South: The people! It’s true that everyone is more welcoming in the southern states.
Greatest joy of beginning Detoxinista? Hearing that someone’s life has been changed because of something I’ve shared. If my recipes make just one person healthier, I feel like I’ve made an impact on the world.
All photos (c) of Megan Gilmore